GeekWire Radio on stage: Here is our broadcast from Seattle’s Pioneer Square

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Technology was the central topic, naturally, as we recorded the GeekWire radio show for the first time in front of an audience this week, at the HUB Seattle in Pioneer Square. But two unexpected themes also emerged from our guests — teamwork and trust. Our first guest, startup vet Mike McSherry, talked about the importance… Read More…

A Siri for advertising: These mobile ads talk back to you

Mike McSherry (Photo via Karen Ducey)

Publishers are struggling to make money on mobile, a challenging scenario given that more folks are now consuming news and information on tablets and smartphones. But a new ad unit from Nuance, a leading speech recognition company, could change the way you interact with ads on your device. Appropriately dubbed Nuance Voice Ads, the new… Read More…

SwiftKey for Android challenges Swype with integrated ‘Flow’ input

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SwiftKey, the popular keyboard app for Android devices, launched a new version overnight that incorporates a feature called SwiftKey Flow, letting users type by gliding a finger across the keyboard to connect letters, maintaining contact with the screen. Sound familiar? Yes, it is very similar to the core functionality of Swype, made by a Seattle-area… Read More…

Swype debuts Living Language to help create real-time, crowd-sourced dictionary

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The Swype keyboard for Android devices already has a pretty robust dictionary, but now it is improving even more by using crowdsourcing to analyze new words and phrases. Beginning today, the latest version of Swype now comes with Swype Living Language. Users who opt-in can share and receive trending words in real-time to help create… Read More…

Take a spin with the new Swype: An Android keypad that learns from you

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Swype is getting a facelift, just eight months after the Seattle upstart was gobbled up for $102 million by Nuance. The popular mobile text-input technology for Android devices now includes both voice and touch into one easy-to-use system, as well as support for dozens of languages. But the key new feature is a smarter algorithm,… Read More…

Nuance combines Swype with Dragon Dictation, looks for a few good ninjas to test it out

swypedragon

You’ve got to give the Nuance folks some credit for creativity. The company today unveiled a new update for Swype — the popular text-input technology that it acquired earlier this year for $102 million. The new offering combines Swype — which allows users to input text with a swipe of a finger on touchscreen devices… Read More…

Nuance to acquire Swype for more than $100 million

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Nuance has agreed to purchase Seattle startup Swype for more than $100 million, according to GeekWire sources. The news was first reported in Uncrunched. We’ve reached out to executives of the company for comment, and will update the post as we learn more. A GeekWire source with knowledge of the deal confirmed the acquisition, though we… Read More…

Tech Moves: Jeff Lanctot returns to Razorfish; Bob Wise joins Opanga

Jeff Lanctot

Here’s our occasional look at new hires, appointments and other people on the move at Pacific Northwest technology companies. Jeff Lanctot is returning to Razorfish to serve as chief media officer, a new position at the digital media agency. Lanctot joined Avenue A — the predecessor company of Razorfish in 1999. He left in 2009,… Read More…